Finding Aideen
by thatonesonia
Summary: Aideen Fletcher was a fifth year and prefect at Hogwarts in 1941. Her life was relatively normal despite the mysterious disappearance of her squib sister until threatening messages written in scarlet blood started being written on the wall. She also began a friendship with a mysterious boy named Tom with whom she shared perhaps a bit too much...
1. Chapter 1

Aideen Fletcher walked into the Great Hall for breakfast. Normally, it would be mostly quiet with a subtle buzz of conversation lulling people back to sleep. But of course, it wasn't normal circumstances. Another attack, another student petrified, another wave of panic. All over the room, at every table, young students huddled together in fear. Older students leaned towards each other, each not wanting to be on the end of the row, quietly debating about the culprit. She made her way to the Slytherin table and sat at one of the benches. As she gracefully bent down her dark curly hair fell behind her. She turned and looked around the hall with her piercing yellow-green eyes. Aideen frowned. Hogwarts wasn't supposed to be like this.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: The first few words on the wall

Day One:

Rumours are swirling about the chamber. The year was going smoothly until now, or at least as smoothly as the year for a fifth-year could go. But now whenever anyone in my house walks in the hall, other students' eyes dart towards us. They believe all or any of us could be the cause. Even when we ourselves are trembling in distress, wondering if it is our peers, waiting for the next few words that will darken our day. Of course Dibbet denies everything, he assures us that all is well and that no one need worry. It sickens me. We watch new writing appear everyday in scarlet blood. However he had a full-scale inquiry of the whole of Slytherin house. Yet none other. It was awful. Beds turned, everything was thrown about as if it was rubbish. I was outraged that the other houses didn't have to go through this. The prejudice against the Slytherin house was awful. Other houses have people who have done horrible things too! Don't the other houses know that we have muggleborns also? That we are just as scared as they are? I suppose not.

Day Four:

As I walked out of my dormitory today I noticed that the sky was an unwelcoming greyish color, completely uncharacteristic of the springtime. As I had walked the halls, it seemed like any other day… Young students rushing from class to class with their heads down, older students leaning on window sills watching everyone else; their gazes calculating, wondering if you are the one behind this. As I walked up the tall spiral staircase towards the Divination tower, I saw what looked like a shoe at the top of the steps. As I had approached I saw that the shoe was attached to a foot, to a leg, to the rest of a person, to Kathleen! When I first saw her I was so sure she was dead, she was breathing, or moving and her eyes were wide open, glassy and a pearly white. But then Dumbledore came, (apparently other students had heard me scream and yelled for help even though I don't remember anything) and he informed me that she was not dead and would be alright. I remember being so confused! When Dumbledore explained that it was a state of being alive but sort of frozen I calmed a little. But it was Kathleen! Kathleen Simmons was one of my two best friends. We became good friends in first year during our first flying lesson. She had curly blonde hair that she almost always used a straightening charm on. She had shiny blue eyes that glowed like silver and a splash of freckles. Kathleen is the kindest person I know. She is also my partner in Divination and her dream log always makes me laugh, she comes up the most creative of lies! Everyone loves her.

However the whole of her house, Hufflepuff, seems to be on edge. The writing had mentioned victims, but no one knew, no one expected her to be the first! Who could want to hurt our Kathleen? Meanwhile Cara seems to just keep locked up in Gryffindor tower. Cara Roderick was my other best friend, we met in our second year when we both tried to sneak out the same passageway to hogsmede. We both had older siblings and desperately wanted to go but never expected anyone else to know the passageway behind the mirror in first floor bathroom! We both scared the wits out of each other, but then instantly became friends. But I barely ever see her anymore. Which makes me incredibly sad, now especially when I just want to talk to her about Kathleen. Cara had mid-length straight caramel hair and deep hazel eyes. She was a bit reckless at times, but she was still one of my best friends. When we met up after our Hogsmede excursion we found out that we were in houses that opposed eachother. Cara is in Gryffindor. At first it had been awkward, but then we tried to prove the rest of our houses wrong. But now we can't even begin to try! Not only without her here but also, this person, this heir, is tearing Hogwarts apart! There once was union, which is now shredded. I don't believe anyone is willing to trust anyone anymore.

_Narration from earlier that day:_

_Aideen was hurrying off to divination. She was already late because she let her free period run long because she was studying with Quinton. She doesn't know why but she can't seem to keep her head on straight when she's with him anymore. She was shuffling through papers trying to find her most recent dream logs and she chuckles at Kathleen ingenuity. Under Tuesday it read a very detailed explanation of her slowing becoming a toad. She finally looks up so as to not fall, when she sees something on the ground. A foot.. As she approaches it and turns the corner, she finds a body. Her yes get wide and she lets out a scream. _

_She hears nothing, but a door bang open as she slowly falls to the ground next to her best friend, Kathleen…. Professor Dumbledore rushes to her, his long hair and beard flying behind him. He looks down at the Hufflepuff and back up at a now sobbing Aideen. He pushes his spectacles back up his straight nose kneels down next to the girl and starts muttering a few incantations over her lifeless body. His words stop and he motions at Aideen to get up. Aideen shakes her head and continues to stare at her friends' glassy eyes while clutching at her black and gold robes. Dumbledore then says, "She is not dead. I believe there is a cure. I have sent a student for Madam Whistlow, but she will be alright" "Wha-what do you mean she's not dead? What is wrong with her then?" stutters Aideen. Dumbledore tilts his head, trying to imagine a way to explain it. He can't tell her what is wrong. Not now… not yet. Dumbledore simply says, "I believe that there is a potion to help her. She is, in a sort of frozen state. She will not seem alive, she will not be able to see, hear or sense anything at all. But her body is simply at an impermanent stop." When Aideen heard this she frowned. "Well you say impermanent, how long will it be? A few minutes? A few hours? What did this? Was it a spell?" Dumbledore wanted to chuckle at her barrage of questions, Aideen was always curious, but he knew that she was just worried, "It depends on how matured the mandrakes are, but I would expect a few days in the least, Miss Fletcher." Aideen wasn't necessarily pleased with this answer but agreed to get up. She slowly rises to her feet watches as her friend was magically pulled off on a stretcher. Dumbledore strides off towards the hospital wing, a sickening feeling in his stomach. The writing, and now this student. Dumbledore thought he knew what was wrong with her. _Petrified_. But how?_

_ Aideen took one last look at her friends' lifeless eyes as she disappeared around the corner. She didn't know if she could believe that Kathleen would be alright.***_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Quinton

Day Five:

I was late for the prefects meeting this morning, which earned me a scolding from the head girl, Genevieve Harris, about how I am supposed to be setting the example! And how we (us prefects) are the ones trusted to lead the school through these troubled times. But I couldn't help it! I overslept because I had snuck out the night before. Well… maybe I could have helped it…I know it's not the best excuse, but I needed to talk to Quinton. He was the only one left, since I couldn't talk to Cara because the only class we share is potions and Slughorn has us seated by his favorites (I was in the first row with a ravenclaw boy and another slytherin girl and Cara was in the last row…) and the rest of the time she is locked up in her dorm doing who knows what. (quite frankly with who knows whom!) And Kathleen is well…. Incapacitated to say the least. I could talk to Melinda Gremstanton but she is so…. Frankly Slytherin. Don't get me wrong I think it's stupid that our house shares prejudice, but it does. Hopefully someday the other houses will learn to except us, and we will learn to stop being so prideful. But Melinda shares some of the stereotypically Slytherin traits and enjoys pastimes such as graffit-ing walls and tease first years. And frankly, she is a bit scary at times. Sure she can be a laugh and is fun once you get to know her but she is not exactly the kind of person you want to have a heart to heart with. Which leaves Quinton, of my close friends that is.

Kathleen and Cara don't understand Quinton like I do. We used to go to the same muggle school and were friends. We were not as close as we are now, but we both liked to study history, and used to pretend we were knights during recess. We would run at each other, wicked smiles on our faces, armed with the most lethal of weapons, our imagination. We were in the same little class, in the same little two-roomed school. It was nice to come to Hogwarts and know someone. But Cara and Kathleen just see Quinton as a sandy-haired, be-freckled Irish boy who hangs around me, likes to play with my hair, is amazing transfiguration but is rubbish at wizard's chess. He is in Gryffindor, confident, smart, and all the girls lust over him. But I see Quinton as more than that. We seemed to bring out the best in each other. But it's difficult to get to him because if he's not surrounded by his popular Gryffindor year mates, then it's a gaggle of girls simpering to him, thus the sneaking out. But I had to see him!

_Narration from the night before:_

_Aideen looked over at her friends' empty bed and then around the room. She adored her dormitory. The green and silver hangings, the window that showed the giant squid, the lanterns that glowed green. She loved the fact that even though the windows were underwater, you could open them without letting the whole lake in. They just conjured a nice breeze and smelled of fresh water. She slowly and quietly slinked out of bed. Carefully making sure that her roommates didn't wake up. When she left her dormitory she hoped that when she returned this was all a dream… She tiptoed down the stairs to her dark common room. It had comfortable green purple and silver velvet furniture and a large, blazing green fire that erupted out of a serpent shaped fire-place. The common room had lots of little niches good for quiet conversation. It had portraits of famous wizards like Merlin, and Salazar Slytherin, and others who were willing to give advice when you asked. Aideen got past the portrait hole and kept on slowly moving, she heard footsteps and did what she always did, cast a disillusionment charm. She had become rather good at charms this year, especially this one. Here is a first rate look at the cunning those Slytherin's are so famous for. She passed several classrooms as she saw a man she did not recognize walk by. Her breath immediately slowed as did her pace as she did everything she could to not be heard._ An auror_, she thought. However, if she were to be caught now? Who knows the consequences! As the footsteps faded away she kept moving, up stairs and across halls as quietly as she could. She didn't like putting a silencing charm upon herself, but if it came to that she would. But no one else seemed to be out of bed. She supposed they were all too frightened to sneak out. Not Aideen. She was determined to get to her tower room. And she did. _

_She got to the seventh floor corridor and as soon as she approached, the door appeared. She never knew why it did but was certainly glad for it. She had first found it when she desperately wanted a place for her and Quinton to talk where other people wouldn't bother them, and the doors appeared. She set off on the winding staircase and as she opened the door to her much loved room she found Quinton already there. "Bugger up Addie, she's not gone forever," Quinton said, referring to her injured friend, trying to get her smile to return. "Easier said than done. Your best friend wasn't immovable and dead looking when you found him," Aideen said mentioning the rumours about his popular best friend and Ravenclaw, Lucas O'Byrne. Quinton smiled" But he was drunk in Professor Dibbets' office telling him in slurred speech how I had snuck to 'Hogsfeet' as well." Aideen gasped with a smile, "Yes, when Dibbet said 'you mean hogsmede son' Lucas said 'no sir, I mean hogsfeet cause that's how awful the pub that Quinny here took me to was." Aideen laughed loudly and Quinton smiled with his hands on his face. "He did not!" Quinton nodded, his fingers still shielding his eyes. "Well it seems we've both had an interesting day…"she said. And they continued to laugh and chatter into the night***_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Tom Marvolo Riddle

Day Seven:

Today, it was my first turn to do rounds of the castle. You'd think that by spring I would have been on rounds already but due to my being a slytherin and a first year prefect, Gueneviere had opted against it. Not to mention I kind of mouthed off and most prefects thought it was a privaledge. Not that I cared, I'd rather be the one sneaking around than the one catching people out of bed after hours. I had barely ever talked to Slytherins other fifth year prefect, Tom Riddle. I've always heard odd stories about him being involved in the dark arts from Quinton but I never believed them. That was just house being obnoxious to house. But when I greeted him cheerily trying to be friendly, Riddle was quiet. However he was devilishly attractive. He had wavy dark hair and angular cheekbones. His eyes were as dark as onyx against his pale skin. Another thing that struck me as odd was when we got to the hall where the writing on the wall was the last several times, and I stopped dead? Riddle stopped but he didn't look at the wall. He didn't even seem to wonder what it said, he just stood there, with his eyes unfocused staring at the ground. I couldn't get my eyes off what had been written and ran to Dibbets office. The wall said_, "One will be taken into the chamber. Their body will rot in the bowels of the school. *Enemies of the heir, beware.*"_But I never will understand Tom Riddle, he was so… calm. His face remained completely serene as my eyes grew to the size of saucers, my mouth contorting into a grimace, and my heart beginning to race. He seemed like he wasn't surprised about what was written, like it didn't frighten him to see the heir state he would be committing murder. It was unnerving to be honest. When I returned to my common room, a little shaken up I heard something that shook me up even more. I heard him in the common room talking about the 'boring half-blood girl' he was on duty with. Well let's just say that it warmed my heart to see my own house talking so kindly of me. Melinda kindly said to just ignore him, she said he was just in a bad mood. She said that even though I was half-blood, I was still a qualified witch. Wow Melinda, tactful. But I believe Melinda had feelings for him. Melinda had brown hair, dark eyes and high cheekbones. He wasn't bad looking either, but he was so quiet. And now I believe that maybe there is some truth to what Quinton said.

* line taken from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Day Eight:

I finally had the chance to slip Cara a note in Slughorn's today. Her eyes were sunken and she kept adding the wrong ingredients to her potion. I wonder what happened to her, she used to be stellar at potions. I told her to meet me outside, after lunch, during our free period. She just read my note and nodded. I was awarded twenty house points for one of the best shrinking solutions. Like house points matter anymore. But when Slughorn smiled encouragingly I felt a small rush of pride and smiled back. My mood was darkened wuickly by a disgruntled looking Riddle. I accidently bumped into him on my way out and he gave me a glare. I swear if we weren't in the same house he would've given me detention. What does he have against me? What have I done? I've always tried to be kind to him when we patrol. Oh I had forgotten, I was a muggleborn! But I have to admit there is something about him that is alluring. I heard that he is an orphan, which is all very sad. I have rounds with him again tomorrow. Maybe I can speak to him. But for now I need to speak to Cara!

_Narration between Aideen and Cara:_

_Aideen wasn't hungry once she realized the time! She needed to meet Cara so she grabbed a green apple and hurried out of the hall. She rushed down the corridor to the courtyard and found the bench she was sure Cara would be. There she found a note taped to the cement bench that read: Couldn't make it… I need to finish charms homework; we'll talk later okay? – C. Aideen was outraged! Charms homework a hippogriffs ass! She knew Cara was avoiding her now. She had only one thing to do. She had to find Cara. _

_She went to the Library, to the lake and even to the first floor bathroom but she was nowhere to be found. She spotted Theresa, a Gryffindor girl who Cara roomed with, and ran up to her. "Have you seen Cara?" Aideen asked in a rush. Theres had a look of distaste as she looked her up and down and said, "last time I saw her she was in our dormitory." Aideen didn't even care about the girl's obvious issues, she just ran towards the third floor staircase when she halted. She just realized that she had to break into Gryffindor tower. She let out a dry laugh and dipped behind the closest door for a second. She took a few deep breaths and she put a disillusionment charm on her self, then a silencing charm and looked for a Gryffindor to follow. She knew that the fifth years had free period and she found Quinton. She knew that if he knew she was following him Quinton would be fuming, but Aideen needed to see Cara. She followed him up the trick staircases until they arrived at a portrait hole. It was an ugly painting of a fat woman in a hideous salmon dress. He said the password "kneazle" when the woman in the portrait asked, and stepped in. Aideen just barely made it inside before the portrait swung shut with a resounding 'thud'. _

_The Gryffindor common room was much smaller than the Slytherin. It was a circular room all red and gold with tapestries and a large fireplace. There were chintz armchairs and overstuffed couches. Overall a lot like the Slytherin's, but with out the largeness and cool features like 24-hour house-elf service. She scanned the room for Cara but didn't see her. Aideen decided that she must be in her dormitory. Quinton started to the right staircase, so Aideen went to the left hoping it was the girls. She found two staircases, one leading up, and the other down. There was a sign that read "First through fourth years below, fifth through seventh above" Aideen started up. She saw that they had a view of the lake outside the window. She saw the door marked Fifth year and prayed that Cara would be alone. She opened the door as quietly as she could and found Cara at a desk reading a letter. She was mercifully alone. Aideen broke the silencing charm and spoke to Cara. She whispered "Cara its me, Addie." Cara jumped and said "Addie?" Addie took off the disillusionment charm. Cara sat back down and said with a grimace "How did you get up here Addie? You know you're not allowed. You could be in so much trouble." Addie said " Don't mind that, why did you leave that note? Why are you avoiding me? Why are you locked up in your own Dorm?" Cara let out breath. Then she said, "I can't see anyone right now Addie. I just need to be alone." "But why?!" Addie said, "Why are you cutting yourself off from everyone? What's happened?" Cara looked up at her and lied "Nothing." Addie opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it. She finally said, muttering at first than getting louder, "Well fine then, you will get 'nothing' from me then. I can't believe you'd be so selfish. Kathleen is lying in the hospital wing and you can't even visit her because it's too 'upsetting'. You know what? It is! But you didn't find her like that. You didn't get the chance to cry over her apparently dead body!" Cara's eyes flashed, she said in an even louder tone, "My dad is dead Aideen! Did you hear me? Dead! He was called to serve in the war going on in the muggle world and was shot! OKAY! So yes it is too 'upsetting'!" Aideen fell silent. She had forgotten that Cara was a half-blood and her family had been touched by the war as well. She had also forgotten that her father was a soldier. Aideen took a step forward, and whispered, "My God, I'm so sorry Cara I-" But Cara cut her off she said, "If you don't leave right now, I will tell Dumbledore that you snuck in here." Aideen froze then said, "oh Cara I am-" But Cara cut her off again. With her face turning red she screamed, "NOW AIDEEN!" Aideen re-put the disillusionment charm on and stumbled out of the dormitory, too shocked to say another word.***_


End file.
